§ Mr. Lathamasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what response he has made to the letter from the chief executive of Leicestershire county council to him dated 12 March regarding the level of capital allocation for social services for 1986–87; and upon what criteria he approved a reduction of 34.5 per cent. compared with the 1985–86 allocation.
§ Mr. WhitneyI replied to the chief executive's letter on 28 April, and will send a copy of my reply to my hon. Friend. The criteria used in determining the distribution of social services block capital allocations for 1986–87 were:
- (i) all allocations were at least 50 per cent. of the 1985–86 level;
- (ii) bids in respect of local authority contributions to schemes jointly financed with health authorities, schemes involving DHSS grant-aided secure accommodation, and regional schemes (where one contracting authority made a bid to cover a scheme which will also be used by other authorities) were provided in full;
- (iii) the remaining amount available for allocation was then allocated on a formula basis, including a per
434 capita amount weighted for the numbers of very elderly people, and a proportion related to the bid submitted.